The Silent Treatment
by Infernobox
Summary: The Hero of Time does something stupid. Zelda is not pleased. (One-shot)


A crowd was soon swelling around the jail building, making the entire surrounding area a mess of furious townspeople and frantic guards. Link ducked as an empty flower pot whizzed over his head. "Hey! That's a little extreme, don't you think?" he shouted back at the people, only managing a little wiggle of protest in his bonds.

"Alright, everyone calm down!" the guard captain shouted over the clamour, raising his hands up in effort. "You will all get to argue your fill when his trial is held."

"But he broke my daughter's handmade pots! Some hero!"

"He attacked my cuckoos!"

"You have to at least lay charges on him!"

The chaos continued to fester despite the captain's attempts. People even began to throw things at the captain, like pebbles, sticks and dirt. Finally, after his headache reached a climax, the guard captain suddenly yelled, "Alright, alright! If you could cease this ruckus for a couple of minutes, I will present him with his charges."

The racket ceased to some point after the announcement, but grumbles could still be heard coming from many. Link felt a lump rise in his throat as the head guard turned towards him. _Good Goddesses, I'm an idiot.._

As the guard captain opened his mouth to speak, the sudden blaring of trumpets cut him off. Slowly, the crowd below began to part and kneel, and but a sole figure was still on her feet: none other than Queen Zelda XXXI, the jewel of Hyrule.

Link hadn't thought that he could get any more flustered, but suddenly, he had. Zelda marched right up to the guard captain and stuck her nose in his face. "What is the meaning of this, Captian Talyon?"

Captian Talyon shrank back immediately, a sheepish smile in his face. "Y-Your Highness! We weren't expecting Her Majesty to grace us with her presence–"

"Save your flattery, captain," she snapped coldly, and cocked her golden-haired head towards Link. "I would like to know why The Hero of Time is standing in bondage in front of the jail."

The guard captain was kneeling fully on the ground, and his voice tripped up as he spoke. "W-well, he's been bothering the t-townspeople lately, and to keep order, w-we had t-to arrest him.."

The entire town had grown almost completely silent, excepting the daring few people that whispered amongst themselves. Zelda's eyes narrowed to blue slits. "What is he being charged with?"

The guard captain scrambled back to his feet and unravelled the scroll which he'd been holding previously. Clearing his voice, he read, "Hero of Time Link, of not fixed abode, has been charged for destruction of multiple citizens' property, namely pots, battery of cuckoos, and breaking and entering. "

Link felt his face heating. _Farore help me.._

Zelda nodded, turned towards Link, and met him with a level stare. "Link," she began calmly, "Is what this man saying true, because I don't believe that you would do anything worth laying charges."

It took all the strength in his body not to flinch away as she stared him down, but he didn't need to. He caught the cognitive glimmer in her eyes when he didn't respond immediately, and he swallowed nervously. _And here's where it gets worse._

Zelda stared at him for a couple more seconds, saying nothing, and turned slowly back to face Captain Talyon.

"You will release him immediately."

A collective gasp resonated through the townspeople. Confused murmurs began to arise once more. Link's eyes practically bulged with disbelief. _What!?_

Captain Talyon blinked owlishly. Still kneeling, he squeaked,"Your Majesty, I understand that the Hero of Time is both our saviour and your.. Er.. Best man, but he had committed crimes that demand justice by your family's laws.."

Zelda's expression was still neutral to the untrained eye, but Link could see the storm roiling behind her pooling azure gaze. "I understand, Captain, but I am not the rest of my family." Out of the corner of her eye, she flicked her focus to Link for about a second. ".. You need not worry about his punishment. Now, unlock his bonds."

Though seeming befuddled and awestruck, the guards obeyed their queen, and Link's iron wrist bonds were removed smoothly. When they dropped to the ground, Zelda reached for Link's nearest hand, and yanked him abruptly forward.

"Would you like an escort to–"

"I will be escorting the Hero of Time to the castle personally."

For a moment, Link longed for the guards' stony company. Having anyone–anyone _at all_ –between him and the queen at the moment would have been ideal. Her grip as they passed through the crowd was nearly enough to crush each bone in his left hand to fine dust.

"I hope you're happy, Link."

. . .

Zelda didn't say anything else to Link as they walked. In fact, she didn't say anything else to him for the entire rest of the day, not matter how much he pleaded for her to give him an explanation.

It was dawn the next day when Link emerged from his quarters to find Lady Impa. Having given up on getting even a snort out of Zelda, Link was going to ask the Queen's closest advisor for help. It felt silly, but his poor knowledge of how this woman's brain worked had forced him. Coming around towards the dining hall, he ran right into the Sheikah woman.

"Good morning, Lord Link. May I ask what you are in such a hurry for? If it's breakfast, there's plenty–"

"I need to ask you something."

At first, Impa's red-eyed expression was that of surprise, but it eased swiftly into understanding. "You want to know why the Queen will not speak to you."

"How did you–"

"I am not permitted to speak of this to you." She crossed her arms. "I am sorry. The Queen has demanded it so."

The two blonde ribbons that were Link's eyebrows scrunched together. "But she won't listen to me! She released me at the jail, dragged me back to the castle and ignored me for the entire day and night. Nothing I say will get her to even acknowledge me, let alone talk to me.."

The snowy-haired Sheikah said nothing for a moment, a crease of thought adorning her forehead. A thin grin spread across her lips. "Perhaps you have not yet said anything that she will listen to. You must think about what you really need to say to her before you demand her attention. If you'd like to.. grovel before her, perhaps, she is in her room." Without another glance, Impa slipped past Link and vanished into a corridor.

Link stared at the doors for a moment, his stomach pleading intensely to be filled with what he could distinguish as some sort of smoked meat. As much as he yearned to stuff his face greedily with food, his need to understand his and Zelda's issue was more prominent.

For a moment he thought, staring hard at the ground, until he finally he spun around, realizing what he was supposed to say. Zelda didn't want to hear him pleading his forgiveness from her, or pleading that she say something, but she wanted to hear him admit it. Link ascended a flight of stairs, took a left when he arrived the floor up, and eventually slowed his pace as he neared a pair of great, oaken doors at the end of the hallway.

Forcing his ever-growing hunger away, he took a deep breath and knocked.

"Who is it?" a muffled voice inquired from inside.

"I need to talk to you."

He waited for a moment, and then another, but when Zelda did not respond, he reached for a handle and opened the door, anyways. Zelda had been sitting on her bed, brushing her hair, but when Link entered, she stood and faced him, gaze glistening with anger.

"You would walk into a queen's room without permission?" Her voice was cold. She took a couple steps closer to him, back rigid with authority. "I could have you seized on the spot for this."

"I understand." Link swallowed hard. Whether he was the Hero of Time or not, Zelda did not seem the least bit insinscere. He walked not further, but instead knelt down on the ground before his queen, not daring to look up at her. "I.. I just wanted to say that I made a mistake."

Zelda said nothing, but turned away from him.

"I was foolish. I drank some sort of strange purple brew yesterday at the Milk Bar, and.. Well.." He racked his brain for the proper way to explain. "..I shamed not only myself, but the Order of Hyrulean Knights, as well. I shamed _you_. A knight-and much less the hero-should not make such stupid, rash decisions. I don't deserve my titles." He rose to his feet. "I don't deserve to serve you."

"Don't you _ever_ say that."

Link was caught off guard when Zelda suddenly whirled around and spoke. "I.. Say what?"

"That you don't deserve your titles and your importance to me."

Link blinked in confusion. "But I.. Thought you were angry at me?"

"Of course I am," she snapped. "You _did_ make a stupid decision, but Link.." Her voice softened a little towards the end of her sentence. She moved closer to him until she was a few inches away from his face, crystalline blue eyes boring into his own. "Just becuase you slipped up doesn't mean that I should demote you, or some nonsense.. You saved thousands of lives after you defeated Ganondorf, including my own. There's no way that you don't deserve the recognition you've got.." She reached out and gently touched the side of his face. "No matter how many mistakes you make, you'll always be my hero."

Link flushed and opened his mouth to respond, but before he knew it, Zelda was kissing him, and he melted into her touch, placing his hands on her hips to pull her in closer. When Zelda finally drew back, she whispered in his ear, "But _please_ , stay away from the purple potion from now on.."

They both stifled a laugh. Niether of them noticed Impa walking by, sniffing amusingly.


End file.
